Ironman Wisconsin Race Report - September 11, 2011

Pre-Race:
My friend Nancy and I drove from East Lansing to Milwaukee on Thursday night to stay with our friend Alex.  It worked out well since I got to sleep in a bed instead of the floor, which made up for the extra 2 hrs of driving as far as I was concerned.  Slept great Thursday night and then had some cereal Friday morning and headed out to Madison and got to another friend's place around 10am CST.  It is such an advantage not having to pay for a hotel when you have MSU Tri-Club alumni all over the mid-west opening their doors for you.

Went with Nancy to Monona Terrace around 11am to meet up with some other friends who were doing the race to swim a loop and participate in the circus that is check-in.  The swim felt great considering how choppy the water was (good practice for the first 200m of IM, I suppose).  Finished the swim, ate food, then stood in line for a long time.  If this wasn't the most inefficient manner of check-in ever, I don't know what is.  1.5 hours in a line because they only have 4 people weighing in 2500+ racers, I mean...c'mon!  Whatever, that's not the important part.  Checked in, weighed in, got my numbers, and left to pick up the girlfriend at the airport.  Hung out with a bunch of excellent MSU spectators then went to the athlete dinner later that night.  Saturday was the same old thing, early morning bike/run to shake out the legs, then a lot of lounging, water, bike check-in, and leg shaving.

Race Morning:
4am wake-up.  Oatmeal with brown sugar, almonds, and craisins, a banana, and a cup of coffee.  Left for Monona Terrace at 5am, pumped up the tires, dropped off the special needs bags, had an excellent pre-race visit to the porta-john.  Got body marked and watched one guy say the wrong number twice and didn't realize it until after the wrong numbers were on his arm.  Headed to the water at 6:40 and got in a short warm-up.

Swim:

Time: 58:41 - 3rd M18-24, 51st OA
Felt great after the first 200 or so.  Got inside the buoys to some open water and I only encountered traffic when I had to swing around the outside of the corner buoys.  First lap was 29 minutes, so I swam fairly steady and didn't feel too strained.

Soon to be IronSpartan

T1:
Time: 5:39
Wetsuit strippers are awesome!  Helix running is not!  Got sunscreened, got my bike, and helixed down.

Bike:
Time: 5:26:30 - 3rd M18-24, 49th OA
Aid stations are awesome! Do you always feel like such a badass when riding through them?
Miles 1-15 were rough as I tried getting my legs to settle down.  Miles 15-90 were fantastic.  Especially since I saw multiple groups pass me and get penalized for drafting...suckers.  Starting at 30 minutes on the bike, I started taking a GU on every top and bottom of the hour with large quantities of water.  On every 15 and 45 of the hour, I took an electrolyte pill with some HEED.  I had half a Harvest&Energy Oatmeal Raisin Powerbar at 3 hours into the bike, but it didn't feel too good.  No flats, no cramps, no crashes, just good steady riding within my limits.

About 85mi in.  Second time up Old Sauk Rd.

T2:
Time: 3:43
Felt tired.  The end of the bike took a lot longer than I was mentally prepared for.

Run:
Time: 4:24:07 - 12th M18-24, 153rd OA
Things started out well.  I planned on running 8:30/mi for a 3:45ish marathon and things were just about perfect until mile 13.  I hadn't had any IT band issues for 3 years and then at the turn around, my right IT band seized and I was forced to hobble for the second half of the race.  I met some serious demons out there on the run.  The worst part is that I was walking up hills to keep my HR down, but with the IT band issues I couldn't run down the other side, so I had to walk up and down some of the hills.  Saw a buddy on the second lap and we ran miles 19-23 together.  Those few miles were dark, sad, and awfully painful.  Hit the final hill and knew I was within a half-mile but I couldn't help but walk a few steps through the final aid station.  Turned the corner, saw the finish, smiled a lot, and gave some high-fives.

Start of the run - rubbery legs

Mile 20 -  Hobble city and heel strike fail.

Total time: 10:58:40 - 12th M18-24, 153rd OA.

For my first IM, I can't complain.  I executed things perfectly and I couldn't have done anything differently to prevent an unexpected IT band issue.  I don't have any regrets and certainly did not hold anything back.  It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it again.  Probably some non-Ironman brand races though, shits expensive!  Looking forward to some much needed R&R - namely, pizza and beer.

Gumby's Pizza, Pokey Stix, and a Pale Ale - Ironman Recovery FTW